ABC is Florida’s largest professional management association of commercial, industrial and institutional general contractors, specialty contractors, associates and suppliers.
Ranked by the U.S. Congress among the most influential organizations in the country, ABC was founded on and remains committed to our three-fold mission of safety and skills training, government and political affairs, and business development.
While the House is in recess the week, the Senate is in session and will kick off the impeachment trial this week with a vote today the sets the trial’s procedures.
PRO Act Letter Sign-on Opportunity:
If you would like to opt out of listing your chapter as a signatory on the ABC-led CDW coalition letter opposing the PRO Act, please reply to this email. By opting out of this sign-on opportunity, your chapter will not be listed as opposing the PRO Act.
If you wish to sign-on to the letter (attached here), you do not have to notify us – we will sign you on.
PRO Act Update:
When the House return next week, House Democrats will continue their push for a floor vote on the ABC-opposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act. The bill currently has 218 cosponsors (a majority of the House) and chances are the bill will get a floor vote this February, likely before the President’s Day recess (Feb. 17).
A recent report conducted by the American Action Forum puts a finer point on the business impact of the bill and it isn’t pretty.
The PRO Act, by expanding the number of businesses potentially subject to joint-employer liability, could affect 44 percent of private sector employees and lead to as much as $33.3 billion in lost annual production for franchise businesses, and put small businesses at risk, according to AAF.
Provisions of the bill that would limit classification of workers as contractors would affect 8.5 percent of gross domestic product and create up to $12.1 billion in new, annual costs for employers, the group says. New restrictions on employers’ ability to replace strikers could also result in over $1.9 billion in “total additional annual upward cost pressure,” AAF concluded.
Impeachment Update:
Last night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the draft of his resolution to set the procedures for the impeachment trial against the president. According to the resolution, the president’s attorneys and the House impeachment managers each have 24 hours to use over the course of two calendar days to present their case, followed by 16 hours for senators’ questioning and four hours of debate and an up or down vote on calling witnesses or new evidence. The Senate is expected to pass the resolution along party lines later today.
While the process largely mirrors the Clinton impeachment trial with opening statements, questions, debate, and then an up-or-down vote, McConnell’s package speeds up the process. Further, the House’s evidence from the Trump impeachment inquiry will only be formally considered by the Senate as part of its official record if a majority of senators vote in favor of doing so.
Democrats have argued that the new rules will ensure a speedy acquittal of the president and, under these rules, the impeachment trial could conclude by next week unless Democrats convince at least 4 Republicans to vote in favor of allowing witnesses.
Infrastructure Update:
Last Thursday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that House Democrats will unveil infrastructure legislation this week. Pelosi expressed hope that there is room for agreement with the president, pointing to recent bipartisan agreement on the revamped trade pact with Mexico and Canada, and Democrats want to show that they are making an effort on a popular issue that they campaigned on ahead of the 2020 elections.
Previous infrastructure proposals from democrats have included Project Labor Agreement mandates that would be detrimental to merit shop construction, and ABC will be closely monitoring any developments on an infrastructure agreement.
Surprise Medical Billing Update:
A health care package that is aimed at lowering prescription drug costs, creating more transparency in health care and ending surprise billing of patients could receive bipartisan support and passage this year.
The bill has received support from Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate and would be a step toward reducing health care costs for hardworking Americans. Two House Democratic committee chairmen — Richard Neal (Mass.) of Ways and Means and Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.) of Energy and Commerce — are trying to reconcile their competing bipartisan proposals over how to address the issue.
Lawmakers are aiming to reach an agreement on the bill by May 22, which is the deadline to renew funding for community health centers and other health care programs.
While the majority of bills that passed this session have yet to be delivered to the Governor for his final consideration and signature, we wanted to take a moment to send you the attached report – a final look at ABC’s Legislative Priorities, other bills of interest to the industry, what passed, what didn’t, what to lookout for, and who our Legislative Champions are from this session.
As “The Voice of Commercial Construction” in Florida, we take pride in advocating on your behalf and on behalf of our entire industry. We hope you find this report helpful.
Find your Florida House Member
Carol Bowen, ABC Chief Lobbyist
3730 Coconut Creek Parkway, Suite 200
Coconut Creek, FL 33066
cbowen@abceastflorida.com
Robert Stuart
Chris Carmody
GrayRobinson
Find ABC Chapters across the nation here.
Visit the ABC of Florida website for more information.
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